September STEM Book of the Month

In this exuberant and lyrical follow-up to the award-winning Over and Under the Snow, discover the wonders that lie hidden between stalks, under the shade of leaves...and down in the dirt. Explore the hidden world and many lives of a garden through the course of a year! Up in the garden, the world is full of green--leaves and sprouts, growing vegetables, ripening fruit. But down in the dirt exists a busy world--earthworms dig, snakes hunt, skunks burrow--populated by all the animals that make a garden their home.

Design a model of a plant that grows up in the garden OR create a model of an animal or insect that lives down in the dirt. Your above ground model should showcase a root system, stem, leaf and flower(s). If you choose to create an underground model it should showcase the insect or animal body parts along with its unique adaptations. Both models should be designed to stand upright by itself and be no larger than 12 inches x 8 inches in size.

Kate Messner is an award-winning author whose books for kids have been New York Times Notable, Junior Library Guild, IndieBound, and Bank Street College of Education Best Books selections. Kate also spent fifteen years teaching middle school and earned National Board Certification in 2006. She lives on Lake Champlain with her family and loves spending time outside, whether it's kayaking in the summer or skating on the frozen lake when temperatures drop.